Heretofore, very little has been accomplished with regard to detoxifying various compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls. Generally, the standard procedure was to place the various toxicants in a barrel and bury it at some EPA approved dump site. Of course, this does not solve the problem in that once the barrels rust through, the toxicants will contaminate the surrounding earth.
An article bearing the title "The Base-Catalyzed Halogen Dance, and Other Reactions of Aryl Halides," by Joseph Bunnett, Accounts of Chemical Research, Vol. 5, 1972, page 139-147, relates to various aryl halide reactions. However, this article specifically states that dechlorination of aryl halides, though sought, did not occur, page 141. This article is not pertinent in that it totally fails to teach or suggest any dechlorination or dehalogenation of biphenyl type compounds, detoxification of various halogenated polyaromatic compounds, and the like. Furthermore, it fails to teach any suggestion of a formation of a polymer from a toxicant.
A German article published in Zeitschrift Fur Chemie, 1969, at page 141, relates to preparing methyl substituted toluene. It thus fails to teach any detoxification or dehalogenation of various types of polyaromatic halogenated compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls, the formation of a polymer from the toxicants, and the like.
An article by Corey and Chaykovsky relating to "Methylsulfinyl Carbanion (CH.sub.3 --SO--CH.sub.2.sup.-), Formation and Applications to Organic Synthesis," published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Mar. 20, 1965, pages 1345-1349, also teaches the methylation of benzene compounds. It is thus not pertinent in that it fails to teach any dehalogenation or detoxification of various toxicants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, halogenated polyaromatic compounds, and the like. No suggeston is further made of any polymer formation from the detoxified compound.